Rendering shows what could be if New Phila voters approve income tax for schools
NEW PHILADELPHIA – The School District has unveiled a conceptual rendering of what a new single campus could look like if voter approve an income tax increase next week.
Issue 1 on the May 5 ballot is a 1.5 percent earned income tax to fund the construction of new schools. If it passes, the district plans to move all students into two new buildings on a single campus on state Route 39 just east of city limits.
The new rendering shows an elementary school with three separate wings and a middle and high school building with two wings.
Superintendent Amy Wentworth says the designs are not final “but it’s still pretty exciting to see what could be.” She says they are still waiting for results of soil and traffic studies.
The project would cost close to $170 million. The income tax would pay for about half of that and make the district eligible for $80 million more in state funding.
Wentworth says to get the state funding, the district must pass a tax levy this year.
Meanwhile, if Issue 1 doesn’t pass next week, the owners of the 77-acre property on 39 will sell it privately.
“It is important for those that would want that land to understand that this the last chance they have for that to be available,” she said.
New Philadelphia voters have defeated property tax levies in three straight elections, so officials opted for an income tax issue to lessen the impact on senior citizens. They say the existing schools, with an average age of 80 years old, have numerous structural, mechanical and safety issues.